Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Shares Down 0.4%

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) shares dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $89.89 and last traded at $90.32. Approximately 221,039 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,021,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet downgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.73.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.07.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at about $3,571,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 179.4% in the first quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 32,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 10,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Company Profile

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana.